there was never a time where he had a one on one debate against rick santorum or newt gingrich or rick perry. always debating four or five people who were really sort of aiming at him. he was the frontrunner throughout. barack obama had four debates against hillary clinton, one on one in the 2008 democratic primary, then three debates against john mccain. it's a different dynamic than to be the frontrunner where four or five people are aiming at you throughout a debate. >> here we are on the eve practically of the first debate and it's supposed to be an economic, domestic policy. >> right. >> and now foreign policy has reared its head. we have first of all mitt romney and "the wall street journal" an op-ed, saying that these developments are not as president obama says, mere bumps in the road. they are major issues that put our security at risk, yet amid this upheaval our country seems to be at the mercy of events rather than shaping them, not moving them in a direction that protects our people or allies. and paul ryan just now on the laura engram radio show, saying this about afghanis